On Thursday, the Star Tribune's Burl Gilyard reported in Former SBA administrator will be Minnesota's next DEED commissioner:
Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday tapped Matt Varilek as the next commissioner of the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
Varilek is president of the Little Falls-based Initiative Foundation, which provides business loans, nonprofit grants and leadership training to 14 central Minnesota counties, plus the Leech Lake and Mille Lacs bands of Ojibwe. He has led the foundation since January 2017.
Varilek starts on June 20.
"Having grown up in a lower-income household, I'm passionate about helping more people enjoy greater economic prosperity," Varilek said in a statement.
Varilek previously served as chief operating officer for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and regional administrator for SBA Region 8, which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.
"From strengthening the economy and communities of greater Minnesota to advocating for small businesses on the federal level, Matt Varilek brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role driving our state's economy forward," Walz said in a statement.
The Pioneer Press noted his education:
Varilek earned his bachelor’s degree from Carleton College in Northfield, his master of philosophy in economic development from the University of Glasgow, and his master of philosophy in environment and development from the University of Cambridge.
But there's more.
Twin Cities Business's Dan Niepow reported in Matt Varilek to Lead Minnesota’s Economic Development Agency:
. . . He was also a one-time congressional candidate for South Dakota.
In a news release, Walz praised Varilek for “strengthening the economy and communities of Greater Minnesota.”
Varilek, who’s slated to start the new gig June 20, will replace temporary commissioner Kevin McKinnon, who’s been serving on an ad-hoc basis since March.
The appointment appears to represent a change in direction for the Walz administration’s DEED. Prior commissioner Steve Grove was a former Google executive who spent years in the private industry and later went on to become publisher of the Star Tribune. Varilek, on the other hand, has spent much of his career in politics. Before his time at the SBA, Varilek was a legislative assistant for Democratic U.S. Sens Tom Dashle and Tim Johnson, who both represented South Dakota.
Varilek did also spend five years as director of policy and research for Natsource LLC, an advisory firm working in the energy industry.
A friend sent us a 2012 campaign ad about the matchup produced by the South Republican party (mislabeled here as a 2010 race):
The ad went viral. Gawker's Caity Weaver reported in This Baffling Ad for a South Dakota Congresswoman is an Excellent Ad for Her Democratic Opponent:
Republican Kristi Noem and Democrat Matt Varilek are in the midst of battling one other for control of South Dakota's lone seat in the House of Representatives, currently occupied by Noem.
The above campaign video, released earlier this week, shows Varilek earning multiple degrees in environmental studies, speaking at UN global warming summits, even hosting some fun National Corn Dog Day parties.
In 2003, the voiceover explains, "Kristi Noem receives the South Dakota Young Leader Award from the South Dakota Soybean Association." This is her most boasted-about achievement.
The video is not an ad for Varilek. It is an ad for Noem.
While the greatest moment of the commercial probably comes at the 1:40 mark, when Noem's campaign hammers Varilek for hosting "a raucous National Corn Dog Day party in his swanky D.C. neighborhood," at which "more than one thousand corn dogs [emphasis in original]" were served, it's the following juxtaposition that best embodies the ad's fervent anti-relevant qualifications stance:
"2001.
Varilek attends Cambridge university in England for additional environmental study. Varilek goes to Marrakech, Morocco, promoting a global cap-and-trade plan at a United Nations global warming summit.
Back in South Dakota Kristi is living Castlewood, farming, raising a family, helping to balance the books and manage a family restaurant. . . .
According to Ballotpedia, Noem won the election with 57.4 percent of the vote to Varilek's 42.6 percent.
Be that as it may be, the credentials scorned in the ad by the South Dakota Republican Party, along with Varilek's years at the Small Business Administration, and the years at the Little Falls-based Initiative Foundation, should make for a mighty fine Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) commissioner.
And who doesn't like corn dogs?
Photo: Matt Varilek has been named the new commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Courtesy photo, State of Minnesota.
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